[hr][hr][center][h1][color=goldenrod]Alan Carpenter[/color] and [color=gold]Rachel Elizabeth Dare[/color][/h1]
[img]http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d94/Malfoys_one_and_only_girl/Signatures/ezgif.com-crop.gif[/img][img]http://i917.photobucket.com/albums/ad11/myandrallene/Character%20Gifs/ezgif.com-crop_zpspje9mlk1.gif[/img]
[b]Location:[/b] The Obstacle Tower > The Big House; Camp Half-Blood.
[sup][b]Interacting With:[/b] Maggie Hartford, various others and each other.[/sup][/center]

[hr][hr]

[color=deepskyblue]"Of course I'll come. It's been way too long since I've been on a quest."[/color]

Alan let out a large sigh of relief. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting - maybe a bit more hesitation in some of the people he chose, but more or less, they were all willing to help him out. The thought nearly brought a smile to his face, but his heart just wasn’t in it. He wanted to just… go. Go away, somewhere. Fly as far off as his shoes would let him and just spend the rest of his life in silence. He had absolutely no idea why the god of war would single him out on something like this. Like he heard others whispering, it just wasn’t practical, fair, reasonable… He gave a quick nod to Webster in thanks before he was suddenly being attacked by Maggie, his half sister.

Managing a small smile as he rubbed the small sting in his arm, he listened to her small rant though none of her words sunk into his head. He was too busy simply looking at her, memorizing each and every little feature about her that he knew he would grow to miss. It was even possible that he would never see her again… Feeling her thin arms wrapping around him in a hug, he quickly hugged her back, tucking her head under his chin and simply held her for a few moments, savoring everything he could.

[color=goldenrod]“And hopefully clear our name once and for all.”[/color] he told her softly before tilting his head down and gave her a kiss on her crown. If he didn’t let go now, he very well might never do it. Sighing, he pulled himself away and tried to give Maggie a reassuring smile. [color=goldenrod]“Just keep out of trouble while I’m gone, alright? When I get back-” [i]If I get back-[/i] “-we’re gonna binge watch an entire show of your choosing, alright?”[/color]

With one final look around the area, Alan stuffed his hands into his pockets, nodding to a few people he had made eye contact with before his eyes fell on the familiar figure of the girl with bubblegum pink hair. Syleste. She seemed so… reverent, even after he had chosen her brother to come along with him. He wanted to go to her, talk to her at least [i]once[/i] before going off to his impending doom… but instead he found his body turning to his rag-tag group he had chosen to take with him.

[color=goldenrod]“I’m headed to the Big House - I’ll uh… I’ll let you all know when we’re ready to go…”[/color] He gave them a weak smile, really just trying not to throw up out of all the anxiety he was suddenly experiencing, and turned his body to head down the unfamiliar path to the Big House. He suddenly envied each and every camper who had gone on a quest. Was this how a first quest was supposed to feel like? Or was this something different because it had become so personal? Pulling a hand out of his pocket, he ran his fingers through his hair, trying to talk himself into being ready to face the Oracle. He had heard plenty of times on how this whole prophecy thing worked. He just wasn’t ready.

Arriving at the Big House far sooner than he had wanted to, Alan opened up the front doors, letting himself in. His eyes settled on the small area within the house where the camp counselors held their meetings. It was the only times he had ever come here, but now, vacant as it was, he felt this overwhelming sense that he just shouldn’t be there. He knew otherwise, however, and continued on through the house, climbing the flight of stairs and eventually found the ladder that would take him up into the attic.

Taking in a deep breath, Alan forced his hands and feet to move him up the ladder, his arm lifting and pushing open the door of the attic to let himself through. It was far more dark than he was expecting it to be… but he had to remind himself it was an attic - it was supposed to be dark.

[color=goldenrod]“Um… hello?”[/color] he called out, climbing out of the hole to stand on his two feet on the floor and attempted to brush the dust off of his knees.

[color=Gold]“..hello, Alan.”[/color]
 
Her voice was soft, though clear as it rang out through the attic, leaving behind a rather cheerful ring as she spoke out, greeting him into what was (for all intents and purposes) one of her many work spaces and places to relax- it wasn’t as though she didn’t normally get visitors; her main two regulars being both Ky’ vie and Deon… but this was the first time that she’d been visited by the young son of Hermes…
 
[color=Gold]“Oh, don’t be shy… I don’t bite- well, not unless you want me to…”[/color] Shaking her head lightly from side to side, Rachel’s long orangey-red locks brushed back and forth over the ground beneath her, her dark eyes opening slowly so that she could get a good look at him from where she was lain upside down over the large cushiony arm-chair that she had bought herself to spruce up the place once she had decided to move in full-time, [color=Gold]“Please… make yourself at home; and tell Rachel all about what’s bothering you.”[/color]

Alan laughed nervously at her statement. Bite him if he wanted her to? Who would want that? His mind refused to think about the prick son of Ares, and instead took a few steps closer into the attic.

[color=goldenrod]”Um… hi… Rachel…”[/color] he said nervously, choosing to keep his distance for the time being. Even in the dark, he could tell that the young woman was quite attractive - young, a little on the strange side (from hanging upside down), and… if she wasn’t serious about the biting, had a sense of humor. For a moment, he thought that maybe he had gone to the wrong place. This wasn’t at all what he was expecting out of a meeting with the Oracle. Was Rachel simply a secretary? Was the Oracle only in on weekdays or out to lunch? Shaking his head of the more ADHD thoughts than normal, he cleared his throat and stuffed his hands back into his pockets. [color=goldenrod]”I’m… um… I’m actually looking for the Oracle… Lord Ares kind of wants me dead for something I didn’t do… and… well… I kind of need some… Oracle-ing…”[/color] Sighing, realizing just how stupid and nervous he was sounding, he pulled one hand out from his pocket to rub the back of his neck and turned his gaze away from her. [color=goldenrod]”I’m sorry… I’ve never done this before…”[/color]

Chuckling softly, Rachel twisted her body around in the chair, her legs dropping off to the side as she once more righted herself, taking a few moments to smooth out her long locks of hair before she pulled her legs up, her body resting lightly over the arm of the chair, [color=Gold]“You’re fine- actually you’re doing a lot better than some others. The first time Deon came to see me for his prophecy, he ended up getting side-tracked, and tried to get me to have sex with him. A feat he hasn’t managed to pull off to this day I might add.”[/color]
 
Chuckling happily to herself, she tilted her head lightly to the side, her smile genuine though still slightly playful as she looked him over, not bothering to hide the fact that she was doing so in the first place, [color=Gold]“He is a pretty good kisser, I’ll give him that… But, anyway, you’re here for your prophecy; that’s something I can help you with. See, you might be looking for the oracle, but you’re already talking to her.”[/color]

At first Alan flinched, but then ended up just closing his eyes. Deon. Always. Freaking. Deon. He didn’t want to hear any bit of it, but he didn’t want to come across as rude, either, so he tried to listen, or at least pretend to, as Rachel finished talking about the most equally loved and hated man in camp. Then his eyes opened, one at a time as he tried to focus better in the absence of the light in the attic. Had he heard her correctly?

[color=goldenrod]”[i]You’re[/i] the Oracle?”[/color] He was shocked, and he was sure it was written clear on his face. He tried wiping his expression away by running his hand over his face. [color=goldenrod]”I’m sorry… I was just expecting… well… someone more… dead? Ish?"[/color] His cheeks were turning a brilliant shade of pink that, if he hadn’t known better, might have actually been glowing in the darkness. He had never been this awkward with someone before - well, save for Syleste, but he had never actually [i]talked[/i] to her. But if he did… he could only imagine just how much worse off he would be than right now.

[color=Gold]“The one and only..!”[/color] Turning her head off to the side slightly, she lifted her hand up from the arm of the chair, pressing the back of her palm against her lips as she chuckled in response to his surprise- it wasn’t as though he was wrong… he was just a few years too late to see the creepy mummified corpse that used to be the oracle…
 
[color=Gold]“Well, not the only… there were more before me. I’m the most recent in a long line of host bodies to the Oracle of Delphi- we’re one in the same. If a prophecy is what you’re looking for, then you come to me…”[/color] Letting her arm drop back to rest over the arm of the chair once again, Rachel smiled, though this time her expression was softer as met with his eyes, holding his gaze for what felt like the longest of times, [color=Gold]“Well, I’m the one who gives it to you, cutie.”[/color]

Okay… so he was starting to understand a bit - at least, why she wasn’t some mummified dead corpse he had heard of before. It made sense the more he thought about it - a long line of Oracles, never just one, but all of them the same… Still though… the way she was looking him over had shivers running down his spine.

[color=goldenrod]”Alright… um… then I’m here for a prophecy… ma’am…”[/color] No harm in being polite.

The moments the words left his lips the room around them burst into light, flames flickering to life over candles which seemed to occupy nearly every spare inch of the surfaces filling the attic, her once dark eyes seeming to cloud over, the very iris’ turning to smoke as a gentle green mist began to filter in from the corners of the room, soon covering the ground so thickly that their own feet could no longer be seen.
 
[color=goldenrod]”Oh, Hera!”[/color] Alan jumped, not at all expecting the light - let alone the creepy green mist that soon had his feet covered. He raised his hands, trying to shield his eyes from the light in an attempt to adjust.

It happened so fast.

One moment she had been sitting, and the next, her face was inches away from his own, her voice far off… distant… and mixed with the sound of another’s as she lifted her hand up from her side, her touch soft and almost delicate as she allowed the tips of her fingers to brush lightly over his cheek.
 
[center][color=Gold][i] "Six figures, tall, stand strong in the East.
A land of Pisa, pasta, and much art none the least.
While two might find love, one life shall be lost.
The Ladies dove shall be found, but then at what cost?"[/i][/color][/center]

A very cold shiver ran through his entire body, her touch against his cheek not at all helping with the distant words she was giving him.

Six figures… himself, Ky’ vie, Erin, Webster, Connor and… who? The real thief? Okay, easy enough. East… did that mean East of camp, or [i]East[/i], East? A land of Pizza, pasta and art… Italy? Italy was East… Pizza… Italy… made sense. But who would want a pink dove at some Italian Pizzeria? The next part of the prophecy, he didn’t like so much. Two might find love, but one life will be lost… His immediate train of thought went to Syleste. He couldn’t help it. With his ability gifted to him by Eros, he could just [i]know[/i] when compatible people are close to one another. He felt it very often with Michael whenever he thought of Syleste. What irked him was that he couldn’t feel his own compatibility… with anyone. Such was the way of his given gift. So did that mean while he was gone, Michael and Syleste would-

Alan shook his head. He needed to focus. A life would be lost - it was prophesied. But who? He felt like he already knew that answer. If he failed, Ares would have his way with him if the monsters didn’t get to him first. So then maybe it was for the best… Michael and Syleste. If anything, he just wanted someone to take care of her the way she deserved. Michael could do that for her. For [i]him[/i]. Aphrodite’s dove would be found, though it wasn’t specified if he would find it in time. That was the thing with prophecies; never clear; always room for misinterpretation. But the fact remained, someone was going to die.

[color=goldenrod]”So East? Like, Italy?”[/color] He needed at least [i]something[/i] to know if he was going in the right direction or not.


As quickly as it had come; it was over. Her eyes once more returning to their natural color as she pulled back from the prophecy, her hand lifting up so that she could press the heel of it against her forehead, holding it there for what felt like a lifetime before she turned her attention back over to the young demigod- how cute… he was already trying to make sense of it all. She could see it in his face; something about the prophecy had him worried, though which part was getting to him most was a mystery to her. She’d been around many demigods since Percy had first introduced her to this world; and each one of them took prophecies different.
 
[color=Gold]“Could be; I mean it sounds right, but then I can’t really know for certain…”[/color]
 
She wanted to tell him he was right- that he was on the right track, but the truth was, she didn’t know herself. As much as he was baffled, she was just as so. That was the problem with being the oracle- with the amount of prophecies made, it barely gave her time to actually sit and think them over; and when she did have the time, it was the last thing she wanted to do, choosing to work on her art instead, [color=Gold]“If you really want my opinion; I’d say it’s as good a place to start as any.”[/color]

Alright. Italy. At least it was a start. Alan nodded his thanks, his eyes looking around the room as though he were expecting something else to happen. When nothing did, he returned his gaze to her.

[color=goldenrod]“Well… thank you…”[/color] Awkwardly, he turned away, ready to leave the attic and put all of this behind him. [color=goldenrod]”I think…”[/color]

He had to get back to his cabin.He had to pack. He had to prepare for the possibility of never seeing his burial shroud that those closest to him would be making while he was gone… Luke had a burial shroud - left in the cabin as a reminder of his sacrifice. Alan couldn’t help but to think that his might be joining his half-brother’s very soon.